Episode Cats163

< Previous | Next >

Episode Cats163, billed as 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 27, Episode 1 in the UK and Series 16, Episode 7 in international markets, was a special episode broadcast on 03 January 2025, as part of 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown Series 27.

The team captains were Sarah Millican and Alan Carr, their teammates were Thanyia Moore and Josh Widdicombe respectively, while Jimmy Carr reprised his role as the presenter.

The match saw Sarah Millican, with the assistance of Thanyia Moore, winning by 40 – 33 in a 7-rounder and they won a Countdown invisibility cloak (which was actually a set of green shirt and pants to enable the green screen effect to take place).

Rachel Riley was, as ever, the arithmetician. The Dictionary Corner guest were The Delightful Sausage, and the lexicographer was Susie Dent.

Interesting and notable moments from the episode are listed below:

1) During the Introduction, Josh showed a scrapbook containing photos of Alan in his early days as a comedian, making the latter feel uncomfortable as there were awkward photos such as him being naked.

2) During the 30 seconds in Round 1, Jimmy tried to train a dog in the centre of the studio using commands such as "Sit" and "Fetch", but the dog was not only unresponsive, Fabio, the show's permanent male model did what Jimmy had instructed behind his back and performed the actions instead.

3) During the 30 seconds in Round 3, Jimmy "made" a pancake with his face on it. Subsequently, all the players were given pancakes with their faces on it, with Josh's one notably dropping from the studio ceiling and Alan's face being made of whipped cream.

4) In Round 5, it was dubbed a Lightning Round. All players took part where they would be jolted with an electric shock at random times by Jimmy via a pad attached on their spine. Points were doubled and the clock music was replaced with a spooky version of it coupled with sparks shooting out in front of the celebrities at various intervals, notably scaring everyone. Thus, the maximum was worth 14 points in this case. Additionally, even though Josh selected the arrangement according to how many vowels and consonants he wanted, Rachel alternated between both letters type, hence the proper selection would have been HPRBLOIEO.

5) In Round 6, the audiobook that Jimmy was listening to was narrated by Andy Serkis specially for the show, with an image of him projected onto the Countdown clock after mentioning that his face was on it.

6) During the conundrum, despite Jimmy giving out explicit hints about the answer, both teams failed to solve it in time. The camera was then panned towards the audience stand where they were asked by Jimmy to shout it out, to which Alan buzzed in jokingly to say he had the answer.

NOTE: In this version, both players' declarations were allowed, although points were only awarded for the best answer.

Rounds

Rnd	Selection	Thanyia & Sarah	Score	Alan & Josh	Others	Max.
1	WRGOTKESI	STRIKE growies ☓	6 – 6	STROKE wotsik ☓	WORKSITE	8
2	100 75 8 9 1 7 → 279	— 282 (9 − 7) × 100 + 75 + 8 − 1	13 – 13	— 282 (9 − 7) × 100 + 75 + 8 − 1	RR: 279 = (100 − 75 + 7 − 1) × 9	18
TTT	IDOGALAN	Make sure you've got the right angle.			DIAGONAL
Rnd	Selection	Sarah Millican	Score	Alan Carr	Others	Max.
3	NFNCUEATD	TANNED	19 – 19	FANNED	DEFUNCT, NUANCED*	25
Rnd	Selection	Thanyia Moore	Score	Josh Widdicombe	Others	Max.
4	50 25 7 1 9 2 → 845	900	19 – 26	848 (9 + 7 + 1) × 50 − 2	RR: 845 = (25 − (9 − 1)) × 50 − (7 − 2)	35
TTT	SARAHNIP	Be careful, they bite.			PIRANHAS
Rnd	Selection	Thanyia & Sarah	Score	Alan & Josh	Others	Max.
5	HOPIREBOL	HOPER BLOOPER	33 – 26	BOILER LIBERO	LOOPIER*, PHORBOL*	49
TTT	GOTSEMEN	That's priceless.			GEMSTONE
6	SNAISJREO	SNARES REASONS	40 – 33	RAISES JOINERS	SENSORIA	57
7	MINGERUST	gingerustic ☓ (13.5 seconds)	40 – 33	gingerous ☓ (24.25 seconds)	MUSTERING	67